Using Fortinet FortiManager in AWS is different than working on the Google Cloud platform. In previous roles, it was primarily hosted in environments as well as on-prem. Fortinet FortiManager is for centralized management for multiple FortiGate firewalls across various sites. I use it to push consistent security policies and firewall rules across distributed networks efficiently. I also monitor device health and configuration centrally to quickly identify and troubleshoot issues. I have supported network automation by using scripts and policy packages to streamline repetitive tasks. In AWS, Fortinet FortiManager helps ensure our cloud deployed FortiGates stay in sync with our security posture and compliance needs, especially when scaling across multiple VPCs or accounts.

One of my favorite features in Fortinet FortiManager is the centralized policy and device management. Being able to push consistent firewall rules and configuration changes across multiple FortiGates saves a ton of time and reduces errors compared to managing each device individually. I also appreciate the automation capabilities, such as the ability to schedule firmware upgrades or run scripts across devices, which helps with the maintenance windows and reduces manual work.

Another aspect that stands out is the visibility and compliance reporting. With Fortinet FortiManager's dashboards and logs, it made it easier to track configuration drift and audit changes, which is critical in regulated environments. The combination of automation and scalability makes Fortinet FortiManager really effective for our work.

Fortinet FortiManager ensures our cloud deployed FortiGates stay in sync with our security posture and compliance needs, especially when scaling across multiple VPCs or accounts.

There are some aspects that Fortinet FortiManager could improve upon. The user interface can feel clunky, especially for more complex tasks such as managing large-scale policy packages or custom scripts. This occasionally slows down the workflow for admins who are new to the platform.

Another challenge is device synchronization as well as policy push delays. At times, changes do not propagate immediately, which can create confusion during critical updates or troubleshooting. These issues are relatively minor in comparison to the benefits Fortinet FortiManager provides, but improvements in these areas could enhance the user experience and operational efficiency.

I have been using Fortinet FortiManager for two to three years overall.

I have contacted the technical support for Fortinet FortiManager multiple times, particularly when dealing with advanced scripting or automation features. Their support team has generally been responsive and helpful, especially for complex use cases and troubleshooting unexpected behaviors in policy automation. More advanced scripting topics can require digging into Fortinet's forums for a knowledge base, as official documentation is not always comprehensive. The support experience has been positive overall.

My experience with Fortinet FortiManager has been reliable, especially when deployed on appropriate hardware or well-resourced virtual environments. It handles managing dozens of FortiGate devices without significant lag or downtime. Performance can be impacted if the appliance is undersized for the environment or if there is a large volume of logs. Proper sizing and regular maintenance, including database cleanup and firmware updates, help maintain smooth operation for day-to-day network management.

Fortinet FortiManager is a robust platform that meets the need for growing networks. Whether managing a handful of FortiGate devices or a hundred across multiple sites, it provides centralized control that simplifies administration. It can group devices, apply policy packages, and automate configurations and changes, making the managed complexity easier as the network expands. The platform also supports multi-tenant management, which is especially useful for MSP environments. Planning is key, so proper initiation, design, and resource allocation ensure you do not run into performance bottlenecks as you scale.

I would rate Fortinet FortiManager technical support a solid seven to eight out of ten. They are generally knowledgeable and responsive, especially for cases escalated to the engineering teams. Their support portal and documentation are helpful, but sometimes the initial triage can take longer than expected, depending on the complexity of the issue. There can also be delays in getting deep technical answers for more advanced features, but overall, their support team provides solid assistance.

I have used and gained exposure with Cisco Firepower Management Center. Compared to Fortinet FortiManager, it stands out for its tight integration with the broader Fortinet Security Fabric, which simplifies managing multiple security products in one place. It is generally easier to deploy and manage in smaller to mid-sized environments. Cisco Firepower offers more visibility and advanced analytics features, providing deep integration for network traffic analysis. Each has its own strengths, depending on the environment scale. Fortinet FortiManager hits a good balance between usability and centralized control, especially in Fortinet-heavy networks.

The initial install for Fortinet FortiManager is straightforward, especially if you are familiar with Fortinet devices and architectures. The setup process involves deploying the Fortinet FortiManager appliance, either virtual or physical, as well as configuring the network settings and connecting it to your FortiGate devices. It becomes more challenging during the initial policy import and device discovery, especially in larger, complex environments with numerous firewalls and different configurations. Planning device groups and admin roles ahead of time makes a significant difference in smoothing out that phase. Once the baseline is configured, ongoing management becomes much easier, thanks to the centralized controls. It is a manageable process that benefits from good documentation, so with the right strategy, implementation should be successful.

Fortinet FortiManager requires applying regular firmware and software updates to ensure you have the latest security patches and feature improvements. You also need to monitor its health, checking logs, storage usage, and connectivity with managed devices to catch synchronization issues early. Occasionally, you might need to troubleshoot or reestablish communication with FortiGate devices if the policies do not push correctly. In larger environments, scheduled maintenance windows are important for performing backups of configuration and system state, as well as upgrading Fortinet FortiManager without impacting device management. While it automates many tasks, it still requires active administration to maintain optimal performance and security.

The pricing depends on what you are trying to implement. While I do not manage procurement directly, based on my experience and industry feedback, Fortinet's pricing is competitive and aligned with the benefits of the features they offer. Their licensing model can sometimes be complex, especially when factoring in additional modules such as Advanced Threat Protection or FortiCare support and cloud services. The value received, especially from having an integrated security fabric and centralized management tools such as Fortinet FortiManager, often justifies the cost. However, budgeting and pricing always depends on the specific deployment size and feature set. Fortinet provides a strong ROI for organizations focused on comprehensive security.

I rate Fortinet FortiManager an 8 out of 10. I am a customer of Fortinet FortiManager. I am okay with my name and the company name to be with the review, and I am also okay with Fortinet contacting me about this review. I am fine with the legal statements that need to be read.

They use Fortinet FortiManager because they administrate the entire solution.

I need Fortinet FortiManager for administration because I have a policy to incline and control the unit.

I deal with managing large-scale VPN deployments with Fortinet FortiManager because the client needs VPN communication.

Fortinet FortiManager is effective and helpful for VPN management, such as deployment VPN management.

They use Fortinet FortiManager for the same clients.

I appreciate that Fortinet FortiManager's administration is more simple.

I am familiar with Fortinet FortiManager's centralized policy-based provisioning and capability.

I use Fortinet FortiManager's revision control feature for audits and compliance.

I don't know how they can make Fortinet FortiManager better.

The pricing and support could be improved.

It would be good if they made small improvements anywhere.

They can also have better integration with other solution providers.

Setting up Fortinet FortiManager is not complex.

It is straightforward.

On a scale of one to 10, I rate the ease of setting up Fortinet FortiManager as nine, with 10 being the easiest.

Fortinet FortiManager is scalable, and I can explain how it achieves this scalability.

I rate the support for Fortinet FortiManager as nine on a scale from zero to 10.

Positive

The pricing for Fortinet FortiManager is good and not expensive.

It is competitively priced.

Fortinet FortiManager is very good to me.

It is very compliant, though it is not helping in maintaining compliance or managing configuration changes.

I rate how it helps maintain compliance with this feature as nine out of ten.

The administration for this solution is very simple. We have experience managing the solution, but I only have commercial experience, not technical.

In general, I find Fortinet FortiManager very good.

I would give it a nine out of 10, and I think the whole solution is very good.

I would advise anybody thinking about using Fortinet FortiManager.

To the client, I recommend this solution as it is very good.

We are resellers.

Review Rating: 9/10

I worked with FortiGate firewall, as well as Fortinet FortiManager and access point.

I have experience with Fortinet FortiManager.

We are using Fortinet FortiManager because we are managing almost 140 FortiGate firewalls.

Almost 1,600 clients are using Fortinet FortiManager in my organization.

The integration capabilities of Fortinet FortiManager are a little bit tricky, but it's acceptable.

It was completed in-house.

I grade it a six out of ten because manageability and SD-WAN are acceptable, but the problem is cloud connectivity and roaming profiles are not working, as there is no option for them.

From FortiGate, I can say the support rates only five out of ten.

The support from FortiGate is low quality, but my reseller is better.

Neutral

I didn't calculate it yet.

Positive

Neutral

Our solution centralizes all the firewalls in different regions or data centers into one location. We manage policy distribution between various regions by creating policies and deploying them according to the device location where the policy is needed. 

We also distribute certificates remotely for managers. Our solution primarily works with FortiGate firewalls without integrating with third-party products.

The centralized management of policies and certificates, coupled with the capability to handle multi-site deployments effectively, provides streamlined operations. 

Centralized visibility enhances security management, offering unified management across regions such as India, Singapore, and Australia. FortiManager captures all devices and provides reports for security analysis. 

We consider the pricing reasonable as it reduces operational costs and boosts security efficiency.

The graphical user interface could use improvement as it appears complex and not user-friendly. Better integration of Fortinet ADC into FortiManager would be beneficial.

We have been working with FortiManager for more than five to ten years.

Palo Alto Panorama is difficult to configure compared to FortiManager, which is more feasible and easier to manage.

Initially, the deployment takes some time, but it is easy to accomplish. Some challenges we encountered include the NTP server, certificate management, and port openings across regions.

We initially deploy our own NTP server. If that does not work, we resort to manual timing settings.

Pricing is reasonable and does not pose challenges.

FortiManager is more user-friendly compared to Palo Alto Panorama. It is suitable for small-scale and easy management. 

I would rate the overall solution between seven out of ten. Better integration of other Fortinet products like ADC into FortiManager would be beneficial.

I primarily use FortiManager to manage FortiGate firewalls. I started working with Fortinet in 2016, managing configurations to be pushed from FortiManager to firewalls and centralizing configurations to minimize errors.

It has simplified our work by allowing centralized configurations and minimizing errors, providing visibility into configurations, and scheduling configuration deployments.

FortiManager helps automate configuration deployment, allowing us to plan and schedule configurations. It works with proper encrypted protocols, ensuring security. FortiManager's documentation and diagrams are user-friendly, making it easy to understand the configuration process.

FortiManager needs to handle different firewall versions more efficiently. If FortiGate devices have different versions, managing them is challenging. There's also a need to upgrade firewalls or change chassis to adapt to FortiManager's version requirements.

I have used the solution since 2016, which totals approximately nine years of experience.

FortiGate is very stable. Currently, Fortinet's configuration and operation are stable, and I rarely experience problems.

FortiManager is scalable, but after several years, it may become limited due to versioning issues. This requires chassis updates to support newer versions.

In the past, I worked with Alcatel Lucent and had partnerships involving FortiGate.

It is easy to set up on-premises or on a virtual machine. Be cautious about versions to avoid compatibility problems.

The return on investment is high. It saves time, money, and resources, providing visibility into configurations.

FortiGate offers the same features as Palo Alto yet at a more reasonable price. The ROI justifies the investment.

I have experience with FortiAnalyzer and other components but have not explored other firewall solutions like Palo Alto.

I rate the overall solution eight out of ten. 

One should be cautious about hardware and version compatibility. FortiManager is an efficient and cost-effective firewall management solution.

Fortinet FortiManager is a great solution that helps you consolidate the single point of management for all Fortinet solutions. It also helps you support the change management process that is aligned with ITIL. The solution also helps you to have version control and tracking control.

The solution's most valuable feature is the consolidation and the single point of administration solution.

The graphics interface between Fortinet FortiManager and any Forti products should be standardized. Doing a configuration change directly in the UTM is not the same as doing it via FortiManager for some features.

I have been using Fortinet FortiManager for five years.

Fortinet FortiManager is a very stable solution.

I rate the solution's stability ten out of ten.

The solution's scalability is very good.

I rate the solution's scalability an eight out of ten.

I would prefer the person who helps us on the first call or interaction to have a higher engineering capacity.

Positive

The solution's initial setup wasn't done by me but by an expert. I believe the setup is not too simple because it took some implementation by an expert.

As a simplified, unified point of management, Fortinet FortiManager helps to reduce administration costs.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten.

I haven't implemented the solution's automation capabilities. The most automation I have done in Fortinet FortiManager is a configuration to be deployed massively to a group of UTMs, access points, or switches. I would recommend the solution to other users. It would be great to have FortiManager by your side if everything you have is from Fortinet.

As the platform tracks every change we make, it helps me with compliance and also helps me maintain all the devices at the same firmware level. It helps with compliance and auditing.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.